The Izmir airport in Turkey has gone solar with the completion of a solar park. The photovoltaic project is comprised of a ground-mounted installation of 450 kW and 90 kW off-grid system on several radar stations. Combined, the projects are now the largest of its kind in Turkey. It is also the first solar project completed under the new Turkish legislation (YEK), that eliminated licensing requirements, to foster renewable energy plants under 500 kW. In the pipeline are several projects totaling 40-50 mW.

The solar panels used in the project were CS6P-P solar modules manufactured by Canadian Solar. This is the second project that Canadian Solar has worked on in collaboration with Gehrlickher Merk Solar, an EPC contractor based in Turkey. The two companies also completed a 95 kW governmental PV project in September 2012.

“The project in Izmir is a very significant achievement for us. Therefore, we relied again on the solar modules of Canadian Solar, as from past experience we could count on a trusted partnership and the high quality of the implemented products; characteristics which helped make this project a success for all parties involved,” said Omer Cihan Karahan, CEO of Gehrlicher Merk Solar.

Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, added, “We are proud to contribute our modules to this milestone project for the Turkish solar energy sector and for us as a company in this emerging renewable energy market. The new YEK will have a great impact on business development in this industry and we are delighted to be a part of that. With this project as a reference, we believe we will continue this success in other national and international airport projects in the future.”